Road test of YamahaWR 125 X 2011 A delight in 125

when you hear the name 125cc, you immediately expect the sound of a lawnmower, often accompanied by a fairing...
As a young rider, I told myself that if I rode a bike that pushed a little more than a 50, no one would ever look at me for the bike's looks.

all right, I admit that after seeing the WR 125 X on the net, my first impressions were partly distorted.
Noise-wise, I could only judge from the youtube videos (you can imagine that with the super video quality of the kikes, you can't really make up your mind).
So I decided to take a look at the bike's guts and riding position to find out whether I was in for a real ordeal or a real treat.
Soft front fork, high saddle and an aggressive side, I was already drooling.

today's the big day.

it's Friday, and as I'm still at school, I've been imagining the quickest way home all day...
Finally, the bell rings, I jump in my car, give it a good spit-take on the main road (with the sound of an airplane accompanying me the whole way) and finally find myself 50m from the beautiful girl.
First impression: "Now that's a 125! It's almost as big as the XT 660! ".
Let's skip the introductions (I admit I'm not very interested in listening to the mechanic's (er, Dad's!) instructions) and here I am, turning on the ignition.
A nice, compact speedometer, but not quite complete (no rev counter!).
First throttle in neutral, and I'm grinning ear-to-ear like a 5-year-old (it's good to be a kid again).

and off I go, opening the road with my dad, who's keeping a watchful eye on me with the X/max 250 serving as a comparison machine (the comparo will soon be available on motoplanète).
Well, he (my dad) doesn't say anything, so I'm probably not doing too badly.
Go on, first straight line, I manage to hit 95 km/h without any difficulty, and Dad always follows without a whimper.
Something clicked in my head, and I immediately realized that she and I were made for each other.
So, when I got to the first bend, I did the crazy thing and stuck my leg out, trying to get her at a good angle.
Well, for a first-timer, I don't think I'd ever seen the ground so close without breaking out in a cold sweat.
From that moment on, I was in my own world. I was doing breakers, overtaking,...

my God, WHAT A DELICE! But it has to be said that nothing is all rosy and pretty. I've noticed that the first gears are a bit short, and you quickly get into the red zone. But after all, I don't care, I'm on a 125 and so I don't see why I should focus on the first gears...)
That's it, I've reached 109km/h, and it's time for the brakes to show what they're made of. Well, I wasn't disappointed, on the contrary, I had nothing to reproach the front or the rear, maybe just that the rear was a bit soft. That said, nothing serious.
All good things must come to an end, but I wanted this ending to be engraved in my mind forever. And that's saying a lot... Passing through town at ??? km/h, what do I see? A blue guy with a white motorcycle next to him on the sidewalk. Well, at that point, the brakes proved their worth once again. So I passed incognito next to him. (Wow, that was hot!).

in conclusion, I could recommend this bike for everyone, but particularly for beginners, as it's very easy to handle. It's got a lot going for it, but not enough to send you flying out of the saddle. And what's more, it's got style! And there's nothing to say about that, everyone's looking at you.

i'd like to thank my father once again for this first try, which I hope won't be the last...

From: Nico the Belgian =)